Archbishop brings his top team for four-day mission

Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, with Bishop of Blackburn Julian Henderson

Published:18:12Updated:18:14Wednesday 07 September 2016

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Church of England congregations across Lancashire will see a “purple haze” of bishops over the next four days as the north’s top 25 clergy gather in the county for a Crossroads Mission.

The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu will lead 24 bishops in hundreds of events and services across the Diocese of Blackburn.

The Mission gets underway on Thursday afternoon with a commissioning service at Blackburn Cathedral at 2pm, before the bishops and their teams spread out across the county for a host of deanery outreach events in the evening.

There will be a full programme of school, church and community events over Friday and Saturday, culminating on Sunday with morning services in all parts of the county, capped off with the final event bringing everyone together on Preston’s Flag Market at 4pm.

Bishop of Lancaster Geoff Pearson explained: “It all started when Archbishop Sentamu took a group of northern bishops on retreat to Holy Island.

“Out of that time together came the desire to go out on mission to different dioceses across the North of England.

“Last year we went to Sheffield, this year it is our own diocese and Durham is next in 2017.”

The Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev Julian Henderson, added: “Put simply, Crossroads Mission is about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with people across Lancashire – and the Archbishop will be leading from the front.

“His recent pilgrimage around York Diocese shows his passion for practical outreach and mission in our communities which is at the heart of Vision 2026.

“The Archbishop will certainly be seen in a huge number of locations across the region during the four day event.”